Tag Archives: Fear

One year ago I published my initial study on the coming bunny apocalypse. The culmination of years of work, it proved these balls of fluff are out to get us. Furthermore, my research correctly predicted the coming Human-Bunny Clash of 2014. These creatures want blood—and that’s just the beginning.

Like this:

Every blogger has his inspiration, and mine has in part come from the amazing science channels on YouTube. To escape the old “wall of text with pictures” habit, here is a sampling of fun videos. Check out each channel for more science awesomeness.

We all know other people influence how we think. Friends, family, and idols help us form opinions on just about everything. But how far can this impact go? What if someone could change not only what we think but what we see? Enter the Asch Conformity Experiments.

In 1951, social psychology pioneer Solomon Asch designed an experiment to test how individuals reacted to group pressure. The setup was simple: subjects were told they were participating in a perceptual experiment. Each was placed in a room with seven “confederates” (actors) posing as fellow participants. Groups were shown two cards, one with a single line and the other with three more lines, and told to match which of the three was the same length as the first. Seats were arranged so that the subject answered last. For the first two trials, everyone gave the obvious, correct answer. Then the real experiment began.

Update: Police have made an arrest, charging a local man with two counts of arson and one count of burning a building to defraud an insurer. The man was first seen in the neighborhood when a resident dialed the police to report someone with serious burns. The man was allegedly crying and asked the resident where he could find water before running off. Soon after, smoke was seen coming from the vacant house. Later in the evening, authorities responded to calls about a man with severe burns in a neighboring town. As the man is not an owner of the house, the next question is who enlisted him to burn it. He is currently receiving medical treatment. More to come.

Original post as follows: On my drive home last night, something smelled odd. The air seemed smoky, almost like an old fireplace. As I opened the back door, I noticed black clouds billowing above. I peered around the corner and this is what I saw.

BOO! Did that scare you? Probably not. There’s nothing scary about reading the word “boo.” Under certain circumstances, however, the word “boo” could be quite frightening. What makes things scary? Why are we afraid? Evolutionary psychologists think they might have the answer.

Happy Halloween from The Weekly Show!

Fear is a reaction to a perceived danger or threat. Often called a “fight-or-flight” response, fear causes a person to confront the danger or flee to safety. Scientists consider the emotion a result of natural selection—individuals averse to threats survive at a higher rate than their fearless counterparts, allowing them to reproduce and pass their genes to future generations. Basic examples of fear include the urge to hide from monsters or run away from hungry lions.